Nairobi Governor Johsnon Sakaja on Friday took a swipe at Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after the latter accused the governor of forcefully seeking to relocate traders from Wakulima Market popularly known as Marikiti.
Sakaja in a post, clarified that the decision to relocate the traders was informed by the need to ensure their safety.
The Nairobi Governor believes it is his cardinal responsibility as county chief to protect and create an enabling environment for the traders to conduct business.
“I have a duty and mandate that will not let me fall for populist political gimmicks at the expense of the lives and safety of Nairobians,” stated the governor.
The governor went ahead to accuse DP Gachagua of playing tribal politics which he stated was detrimental to the nation as this could fuel division.
He further faulted the Deputy President for inciting the city traders against the Nairobi County Government using vernacular while holding a rally at the heart of the nation's capital.
“You have chosen to use falsehoods to incite traders against the measures we are taking,” claimed the governor.
“There will be order in this major artery into the city. The people of Nairobi and the leadership of the market support this move fully.”
Sakaja's sentiments come hours after DP Gachagua hit out at Sakaja over his controversial decision to forcefully relocate traders from Wakulima Market.
The DP accused Sakaja of allegedly betraying the traders by failing to heed their demands despite their support for him in the past election.
"When we were campaigning at Wakulima market, there were a lot of people and no one had a problem after receiving many votes, they are now claiming that there is a congestion problem in the CBD," Gachagua alleged.
"Why didn't they point that out during the campaign period?" the DP questioned.
Starehe MP Amos Mwago also called out Governor Sakaja for downplaying the deputy president's concerns on the Marikiti relocations issue and accused him of pulling the tribal card against the DP.
The lawmaker wondered why that was only now becoming an issue when he was agitating for the rights of his constituents. Mwago reminded Sakaja that Gachagua rigorously campaigned for him in the lead up to the 2022 general elections.
"In as much as we want to say Riggy G is tribal, we should remember that in the UDA run-up to the gubernatorial race we had a candidate Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, who is Kikuyu but Riggy G relayed upon her to step down for Sakaja so this gimmick of saying Riggy G is political or tribal is just hullabaloo because is he only tribal when talking about the rights of our people?" Mwago quipped.
